MEU Programme
Minorities in the EU
The Aspect of Culture in the Social Inclusion of Ethnic Minorities
Evaluation of the Impact of Inclusion Policies under the Open Method of Co-ordination in the European Union:
Assessing the Cultural Policies of Six Member States
Final Report Czech Republic
An Evaluation Project under the EU’s Social Protection and Social Integration Policy
Milada Horáková Pavel Bareš
RILSA Prague October 2006
EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR MINORITY ISSUES (ECMI) Schiffbruecke 12 (Kompagnietor) D-24939 Flensburg +49-(0)461-14 14 9-0 fax +49-(0)461-14 14 9-19 e-mail: info@ecmi.de Internet: http://www.ecmi.de
The Aspect of Culture in the Social Inclusion of Ethnic Minorities
Evaluation of the Impact of Inclusion Policies under the Open Method of Co-ordination in the European Union:
Assessing the Cultural Policies of Six Member States
Final Report Czech Republic
VÝZKUMNÝ ÚSTAV PRÁCE A SOCIÁLNÍCH VĚCÍ
RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR LABOUR AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS
Milada Horáková Pavel Bareš
Prague
October 2006
ECMI Working Paper # 29
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) Director: Dr. Marc Weller
© 2006 European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Published in March 2006 by the European Centre for Minority Issues ISSN: 1435 - 9812
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary………...……….7
Introduction……….……8
I. The Dimension of Culture in the Social Integration of Minorities………10
II. The Institutional Framework of Social Integration in the Czech Republic………..13
III. Basic Strategic Documents Articulating the Policies of Social Inclusion of Ethnic Minorities in Culture……… ….… 18
IV. National Minorities in the Czech Republic………..… ...26
V. Roma Community………..……..37
VI. Foreign Communities……….55
VII. National Action Plan of the Czech Republic……….……58
VIII. Indicators of Ethnic Minorities Inclusion in Relevant Areas………...60
IX. Pilot Investigation among Professionals Dealing with Inclusion of Ethnic Minorities…..65
X. Cost-Effectiveness of Government Education Policies for the Roma Community……….86
Appendixes: 1) Relevant Legal Norms………104
2) Tables………..………106
3) Proposed Indicators: Czech Republic……….130
4) Hypotheses Testing the Meaning of Some Aspects of Culture in the Process of Social Inclusion of Ethnic Minorities………… … …………132
5) Form of the Questionnaire: Selected Aspects of Culture upon Social Inclusion of Ethnic Minorities……… ………138
6) Review of Subsidiary Instruments Providing Education for the Roma Community…….143
7) Model of Roma Education Policy Implementation………....145
References………..….146
Foreword and Acknowledgements
This Working Paper is one in a series of country reports submitted under the ECMI project “The Aspect of Culture in the Social Inclusion of Ethnic Minorities: Assessing the Cultural Policies of six Member States of the European Union” (hereafter OMC Project). The OMC Project was conceived by the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) and established with the generous support of the European Commission’s Directorate of Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities and under the European Union’s Social Protection and Social Integration Policy (Grant Agreement VS/2005/0686). The present Working Paper was researched and authored by colleagues at the Research Institue for Labnour and Social Affairs, Prague, Czech Republic.
The OMC Project evaluates the National Action Plans (NAPs) of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Sweden under the European Union’s Open Method of Co-ordination (OMC) on Social Inclusion in terms of cultural policies and their impact on the social inclusion of ethnic minorities. The OMC Project is a twelve-month effort which began in December 2005. It focuses on three domains of social exclusion:
• Education,
• The media, and
• Public participation.
The aim of the OMC Project is to enhance cultural policies and NAPs with the overall goal to promote greater inclusion of members of ethnic minorities and Roma/Sinti groups in the socio- economic life of the European Union. The specific purpose of the OMC Project is to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these policies in the six member states through the piloting of an index of Common Inter-Cultural Indicators (CICIs).
The problem of indicators has been a central part of the social policies adopted under the Lisbon Strategy (2000) including the OMC on Social Inclusion and ongoing efforts to develop and refine social indicators continue under the auspices of the European Commission. One of the main objectives of the OMC Project is to contribute constructively to this effort in the area of cultural indicators.
The parties most deserving of recognition for the contents of these Working Papers are the members of the six country research teams who are listed on the front page of each report. ECMI would like to thank every member of these teams for their hard work and continued interest and support for the OMC Project. The research teams have benefited from consultation with several external experts during the research. First and foremost, the OMC Project and the research for the country reports could never have been conceived without the unique modelling of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness as well as the personal and energetic dedication of Prof.
Francois Grin, Director of the “Economics-Language-Education" Observatory at the University of Geneva, formerly Acting and Deputy Director of ECMI. At the same time, the application of Prof. Grin’s model could not have been possible without the assistance and ever so patient didactic help of Mr. Michele Gazzola, of the “Economics-Language-Education" Observatory at the University of Geneva. ECMI owes much to these two experts on the economics of language policies. Credit also goes to Dr. Andreas Hieronymus of the Institute for Migration and Racism Research, Hamburg and Dr. Deborah Mabbett of the School of Politics and Sociology, Birkbeck College, University of London both of whom showed keen interest in seeing the OMC Project getting off the ground.
Within ECMI a number of dedicated persons who have worked with the OMC Project from the beginning deserve special thanks: Ms. Denika Blacklock, the first Project Manager and Ms.
Ulrike Schmidt, the second Project Manager have both been indispensable as have the continued support of Project Co-ordinator Ms. Maj-Britt Risberg-Hansen and IT Manager Matthias Voigt.
ECMI’s Deputy Director Ewa Chylinski has been instrumental in both the initial phase of the project design and the implementation phases as well as in the relations to the European Commission, and Senior Research Associate and eminent expert on Roma issues, Dr. Eben Friedman has lend us extensive support in every aspect of the Project. A special thanks goes to ECMI’s Librarian Wes McKinney without whose professional dedication these reports would not reach the public. Finally, a warm thanks to those individuals who seldom get recognized: the interns who have worked every bit as hard as anyone else attached to this project: Ms. Jaimee Braun, Ms. Annika Salmi, Ms. Alina Tudose and Ms. Kate Corenthal.
ECMI hopes that these Working Papers will prove useful to researchers interested in or participating in the ongoing research on the social exclusion of ethnic minorities and the development of cultural policies within the European Union. Any inquires related to these reports should be address directly to the main authors of each Working Paper who are also individually responsible for the content of the Papers. A list of contact details as well as further information about the OMC Project can be found by visiting the homepages of the OMC Project at www.ecmi-eu.org.
Dr. Tove H. Malloy
Scientific Director of the OMC Project
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The social exclusion of members of ethnic minorities is viewed as a serious political problem that carries the potential danger of escalating ethnic violence. Consequently, EU member countries are looking for tools to help to prevent that happening. We understand social integration as a multi-dimensional process involving the integration of the individual into the broader social structures (social groups) of a given society and culture. Current social integration NAPs appraise differences in the populations of EU member countries using socio-economic indicators (gross domestic product, rates of employment and unemployment, poverty etc.) but they usually miss the cultural dimension. As far as the Czech Republic is concerned, cultural policy is a matter for the Ministry of Culture whereas social inclusion matters fall within the competence of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. This Ministry supports research into social integration including that of ethnic minorities, particularly, as far as this report is concerned, the Roma community. Other state institutions play a complementary role within the inclusion process. Every ministry has its own concepts and distributes financial resources to projects in respective areas. The aim of this report is to provide a description of the concepts and policies towards and the current situation of national minorities and the Roma and foreign communities as regards participation, education and mass media publicity. These relatively independent populations occupy different positions in society and, in some cases, have different legal status so that different policies are required to bring about their social inclusion. Cost effectiveness analysis was limited in our report to educational policies concerning the Roma only, an approach which was agreed at the workshop in Flensburg. The measurement of cost effectiveness in the areas of participation and media policy is extremely complex due to the multilevel influences of social processes. In addition, finding the relevant indicators for an evaluation of the success of various policies in designated areas is also not an easy task. The data available for the measurement of cost effectiveness is limited and insufficient. However, the data which was available on preparatory classes, education assistants and the support programme for higher education and university students showed that the approach adopted in these areas is generally effective. Moreover, education is a value in itself and any improvement in this area is, in today’s modern knowledge society, generally desirable.
Introduction
Analysing the links between culture and social inclusion has a fundamental importance in the search for factors supporting cohesion and stability in countries with a large proportion of ethnic minorities in their population. Social exclusion of the members of ethnic minorities is viewed as a serious political problem that carries the potential danger of escalating ethnic violence. That is why EU member countries are looking for tools to help prevent that happening.
Although the link between culture and the social inclusion of ethnic minorities is evident, verification of intuitively felt connections is complicated by the vagueness and ambivalence of the conceptual apparatus and by the lack of conclusive empirical data that can be used to test hypotheses.
The project titled “The Aspect of Culture in the Social Inclusion of Ethnic Minorities: Assessing the Cultural Policies of Six Member States of the European Union1” aims to evaluate the cultural policies of six EU member states (Estonia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden) based on the substance of their National Action Plans2 for social integration using the coordination method3. Appraising the influence of the aforementioned EU countries’ cultural policies on the social integration of their ethnic minorities (including Roma/Sinti communities) is expected to add a new, cultural dimension to the NAPs. Testing a set of inter-cultural indicators4 and comparing them among EU member countries is one expected specific benefit of the project. During the assessment of the NAPs there is also intended to be improved cooperation between ministries, government agencies and citizens’ associations.
We understand social integration as a multi-dimensional process of the integration of the individual into the broader social structures (social groups) of a given society and culture. The process of an individual’s integration into a family, community and also state takes place under the influence of many mutually conditioning factors whose effect cannot be precisely defined, isolated and measured.
The current social integration NAPs appraise differences in the populations of EU member countries using socio-economic indicators (gross domestic product, the rate of employment, the rate of unemployment, poverty etc.). The selected indicators testify about certain aspects of social and economic development in EU member countries. The indicators are selected on the basis of consensus between the evaluators and cannot be treated as an objective gauge of the state of social integration or exclusion of an individual or group. They are an expression of the prevailing trend in evaluation, which is the level of economic growth and standard of living, but these are things that not all people participate in in equal measure5. In a way, the selection of indicators is a reflection of the values of consumer society, which may cease to apply if non- economic values prevail in the value system of society6.
As a social creature, during the life of an individual he joins various social groups (family, community, peers, minorities, work teams, social organisations, political parties etc.) which
1 “The Aspect of Culture in the Social Inclusion of Ethnic Minorities: Assessing the Cultural Policies of Six Member States of the European Union”, coordinator European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI), Flensburg, Germany
2 National Action Plans (NAPs)
3 Open Method of Coordination (OMC)
4 Common Inter-cultural Indicators (CICI)
5 Factors of Social Exclusion, Petr Mareš, RILSA Brno, 2006
6 The term “poverty and social exclusion” is defined as a state in which an individual or group does not fully participate in the economic and social life of society and/or its access to income and other resources prevent the individual or group achieving a standard of living that is regarded as acceptable in the society they live in. In this situation they often have no access to even basic rights. (Kotýnková, Laňka, 2002).
coexist as part of the broader national culture and its subcultures. In the context of social integration we understand culture to mean a set of living conditions, forms, notions of value and knowledge (philosophy, religion, science, art, morality, customs and conventions) passed down from generation to generation in a society existing at a given time and in a given geographical space.
The terms social inclusion or exclusion have two different levels of meaning: they do not just denote the degree of differences between individuals and groups; they also contain an evaluation of positive or negative development. Whereas social inclusion is regarded as a positive phenomenon, social exclusion is assessed as a negative phenomenon7, yet an objective measurement of these opposites is not possible.
Social inclusion or exclusion always takes a particular direction. What is usually meant is integration into majority society sharing a certain set of common values, standards and patterns of behaviour. The value systems of the groups an individual joins need not be identical and may entail some form of conflict. Social inclusion always takes place within a particular social context and is not a hollow abstraction.
Culture plays a significant role in the process of integrating ethnic minorities into majority society. Inclusion processes take place in parallel with processes designed to preserve the minority identity, whereby both trends are strengthened by the majority and the minority, may have contradictory effects and may bring about inner conflicts in members of the minority. The creation of inner conflicts is nothing out of the ordinary: they result from the individual’s pertinence to various social groups that do not share the same values and may have nothing to do with ethnicity (e.g. family versus peers, political party versus family etc.).
On the one hand, cultural diversity and plurality of ideas are an important source of social innovation, but if they overstep a certain boundary – a boundary that is hard to define – they may lead to a disruption of fundamental shared values and become a source of instability in society.
That is why ever-greater attention is being paid to processes of managing cultural diversity at local community level in ethnically pluralistic societies.
Elements of various cultures may be mutually compatible or exist in parallel, but some are incompatible in the context of one state. The key criterion is the degree of consensus on fundamental values and standards that can be incorporated into the law of a state or community of states (democracy versus autocracy, polygamy versus monogamy, the society-approved age for marriage, society’s attitude towards birth control, education and career, participation in goings-on in society etc.).
Besides the wider, general, social level, social inclusion processes also have an individual level that indicates the degree to which the individual identifies himself with his social environment and its values. What may be denoted as a state of social exclusion by external assessors need not be subjectively perceived and felt in the same way by the individual. Here the individual’s value system is key and this value system need not always be identical to the values shared by the majority of society. Processes of social inclusion or exclusion should be viewed as relative to the value systems of the society in which they take place.
7 Preventing Spatial Segregation; Luděk Sýkora and Jana Temlová, Law Faculty of Charles University, Ministry for Regional Development, Prague 2005
I. The Dimension of Culture in the Social Integration of Ethnic Minorities
The process of inclusion or exclusion of ethnic minorities may be analysed in four basic dimensions: (1) socio-economic; (2) cultural; (3) legal and political; and (4) in terms of the host country's attitude to immigrants. In this project we are concentrating on the dimension of culture.
The process or social integration or exclusion is culturally determined. Cultural indicators have not previously been explicitly included in the NAPs of EU member countries, but implicitly cultural differences are regarded as one of the reasons for the social exclusion of certain members of ethnic minorities. NAPs should reflect the cultural aspect of social inclusion processes as well as the economic aspect. In the context of the social integration of ethnic minorities culture is particularly important from the point of view of shared values, conventions and patterns of behaviour.
Social inclusion or exclusion processes are structured, and they are influenced by many diverse and interlinked factors. The actual state of social inclusion or exclusion achieved by an individual or social group cannot always be regarded as definitive, because every society develops and is exposed to constant change. The tension that is created in a society in consequence of reactions to changes is simultaneously a driving force behind social innovations.
Cultural diversity is considered an essential condition of progress, for the very reason that it forces people to adapt and seek equilibrium in a society exposed to changes.
The individual is born into a particular community that is part of a broader cultural unit. Every human community creates a historically variable set of written and unwritten standards of behaviour (traditions, customs, conventions, imperatives and laws) that regulate the relationships of individuals and groups within the community and peoples’ relationships to society itself and its institutions. At the same time they define the functions of members within a community and their role in terms of the goals that society sets itself. Culture influences the individual’s social standing, status and role.
Both the mentality and the behaviour of the individual are directly influenced by the personal experiences he gains in contact with his social surroundings. In the upbringing process the individual learns symbolic behaviour, spoken and written language, gestures and established patterns of behaviour. That gives him the ability to find his bearings in the cultural environment of a given society and to understand the behaviour of others. Social conventions become part of his personality and influence his feelings, experiences, endeavours, actions and judgements.
Accepting social standards and values is a condition of the individual’s acceptance by other members of society and normal interaction with people.
Every individual occupies a particular position in society. Social status and the role associated with it change in the course of life. Biological factors (sex and age) only partially influence status and role. How a person acts and how successful he is in a given community are reflected in his social status, which has either low or high prestige. Prestige, position in the social structure and social ties then play a very important role in the process of social inclusion or exclusion.
The personality has its own individuality which society may modify but never eliminates.
Acquired traits, influenced by personal history and experiences, help shape the individual’s psyche and influence his behaviour. Every individual has certain innate and acquired needs.
Individual needs and interests may conflict with the demands placed by society.
The individual learns social conventions and roles, but individually re-shapes, interprets and realises them. He adopts the value system of society to a certain extent, but also confronts it with the reality of his own life. Based on this he creates his own value system
which need not be identical to the one shared by the majority. He acts on the basis of his own experiences, feelings and attitudes and interprets everything taking place around him in his own way. All this influences his ability to integrate into the cultural environment.
This takes place on the assumption that the individual shares common standards, values and goals and satisfies the expectations of other members of society. Then he feels part of a certain community and is accepted as an equal partner by the other members.
The conventions and values of a culture or subculture the personality identifies with form the integrity of his mental world. Interiorised values that are the basis of attitudes are hard to change, if they can be changed at all. Pressure to change these values exerted by the social environment may bring serious psychological problems and result in mental breakdowns that are at the root of conflict behaviour. No one can entirely abandon a culture he was integrated into and cast it off as an unwanted burden. He may accept new cultural standards and values that are not in stark conflict with the original ones, but he cannot abandon the deeply interiorised structures forming the basis of his personality.
The switch from one cultural system to another is accompanied by mental stress; and a consistent endeavour to conserve one’s cultural identity may complicate the everyday life of members of a minority. If minorities are not segregated, if the majority and minorities mutually interact, they must also influence each other. New generations of members of ethnic minorities coexisting with the majority find it hard to preserve their original culture, even though the majority do not necessarily exert pressure on them to assimilate. Minorities usually move closer to the majority culture. Preserving a minority culture unchanged can only be done among separated (segregated) communities.
Every society is in its way structured, organised and stabilised, which is reflected in its social climate. Difference necessitates adaptation and thus also social change. On the one hand, that brings a certain degree of conflict, but on the other hand it is also a source of innovation and progress. Openness or closedness to cultural differences and changes is the result of the current social climate in a society.
The integration of cultural and ethnic minorities is a gradual process. The first phase in the life of a minority is the accommodation necessary for survival. The next phase is adaptation, where a minority preserves most of its own culture and only adapts to those elements of majority culture without which it cannot successfully function in society. Integration comes about if the majority and minority culture form a functional whole in which majority culture is dominant.
There is partial or complete assimilation if the original culture of a minority is systematically rejected, forgotten or merges with the majority culture8.
How successful the integration of minorities is depends on the society’s capacities and resources enabling the saturation of fundamental economic and cultural needs. Spatial and social segregation makes social inclusion impossible. Unequal access to resources in education, preparation for a career and job opportunities can be a source of tension in society.
In the integration of minorities, culture’s principal effect is found during the process of upbringing and education. A common language (which is a precondition of making oneself understood) plays a key role, but the sharing of key values and conventions of social behaviour
8 New theories distinguish between (1) integration, which is understood to mean the coming together of two cultures, with the culture of the country of immigration having long-term dominance; (2) separation, where the original culture is preserved without any room for the entry of the culture of the country of immigration; (3) marginalisation, the loss of the original culture with only partial adaptation to the country of origin; and (4) assimilation, or absorption of the culture of the host country and abandonment of original culture. (Blaschke, 1996)
also plays an important part. At the same time the cultural identity of minorities needs to be conserved and their culture and language need to be developed. That is brought about by multicultural upbringing, which strives to develop and bring mutual understanding between members of various cultures settled in a particular geographical space. Nurturing tolerance, mutual respect and openness from early childhood may open up social structures. A lack of communication and interaction is a cause of social barriers. Social isolation prevents mutual recognition and allows prejudices to be formed, to persist and to be transmitted. Under certain circumstances the majority and minority populations may live side by side yet remain more or less isolated.
A targeted media policy may help break down barriers caused by mutual ignorance and help eliminate prejudices against minorities. The more subtle aspects of majority and minority culture may be brought closer together through art activities.
II. Institutional Framework of Social Inclusion in the Czech Republic 1. Institutions Participating in Strategic Documents Relating to Social Inclusion
The Government Commission for Preparation of a Common Memorandum on Social Inclusion and the National Action Plan of Social Inclusion consists of representatives of the government departments (ministries): Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Informatics, Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Agriculture. Only the Ministry of Culture is not represented. The members of the Commission are also the representatives of the following institutions: Government Committee for Handicapped Citizens, Government Council for the Roma Community Affairs, Czech Statistical Office, Office of the Public Guardian of Human Rights, Association of Regions of the Czech Republic. Union of Cities and Townships of the Czech Republic, Czech and Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions, Union of Industry and Transport, Union of the Czech and Moravian Manufacture Cooperatives, the Association of the Czech Catholic Charity, Man in Distress society, National Council of Handicapped People, Faculty of Social Sciences of the Charles University and Sociologic Institute of the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic. The Commission does not so far associate any Czech institutions and organizations from the culture field.
2. Institutions Participating in the Process of Social Inclusion of Ethnic Minorities
The social inclusion matters fall within the competence of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. This Ministry supports a research in the given sector, which includes ethnic minorities, namely the members of the Roma community.
A government body for the national minority issues is the Government Council for the Roma Community Affairs. They solve the affairs of the population enjoying the statute of the national minority including issues of social inclusion, which again relate to the Roma minority.
The social inclusion of the Roma community is a matter attended to by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Culture.
The concept of integration of foreigners falls within the competence of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, which updates annually the Concept of Integration of Foreigners and submits proposals of long-term legislation-related and practical measures. It coordinates the plans of individual departments elaborated as a part of a uniform concept of alien integration. Other ministries (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Industry and Trade) prepare the departmental plans of integration policies. These policies are annually assessed. The Ministry of Culture is engaged in the policy of integrating foreigners in the field of culture through grant schemes. The academic institutions and non- governmental organizations also participate in the policy of integration of foreigners.
3. Institutions Involved in the Social Inclusion Processes based on NAP9
3.1 Government Level
The participation on the government level occurs in particular through government councils and committees. 5 bodies play a key part in social inclusion: Council of Economic and Social Agreement, Government Council for Non-State Non Profit Organizations, Government Council
9 MPSV 2004.
for the Roma Community Affairs, Government Committee for the Handicapped Citizens and Government Council for the National Minorities.
The Council of Economic and Social Agreement was established in 1990 as an institutional platform for a social dialogue between the government and the social partners. It is a voluntary search and initiation body operating in the unemployment sector and the area of social and economic policy. The supreme body of the Council is the plenary session, which consists of the Premier, 7 government representatives, 7 trade representatives and 7 representatives of employers. A contribution of the Council is inter alia a gradual establishment of tripartite structures in most afflicted regions and sectors.
The Government Council for Non-State Not-for-Profit Organizations was set up in 1992 as a permanent consulting, initiation and coordination body of the government for the area of non- state not-for-profit organizations (NNO). The Council has 36 members at most; its chairman is a member of the government (at present the vice-chairman of the government for research and development, human rights and human resources). Its members are the NNO representatives, who form always at least one half of all Council members, representatives of the state administration central bodies, whose competence includes the execution of the state policy towards NNO and representatives of the cooperating regions. The Council gathers, deals with and submits to the government the information concerning NNO, background documents and proposals relating to formation of a suitable environment for their existence and activities.
The Government Council for the Roma Community Affairs was established in 1997 as a permanent consulting and initiation government body for the Roma community issues. The Council has 28 members; it is chaired by a government member (at present the Vice-Chairman of the Government for Research and Development, Human Rights and Human Resources). One half of members consists of Roma community representatives (one from each region). Its objective is to assist in integration of the Roma community in the society. The Council secures the cooperation of departments responsible for implementation of partial measures and fulfillment of the tasks resulting from the government resolutions and international treaties binding the Czech Republic. It gathers, deals with and submits to the government the information, background documents and proposals related to formation and application of the government policies in the field of integration of the Roma community. It prepares the Concept of Roma Integration and evaluates the fulfillment of the applicable government resolutions. It also has a right to propose a distribution of financial funds reserved for the supplementary schemes to support the integration of the Roma community. In its activities it cooperates with the regional and municipal self-administrations, with the non-state non-profit organizations as well as international organizations, which contribute to the integration of Roma communities.
The Government Committee for the Handicapped Citizens was set up in 1991 as a permanent coordination, initiation and consulting body of the government for a support of handicapped citizens. The Chairman of the Committee is the Prime Minister, its members are high representatives of departments, four vice-chairman of the National Council of Handicapped People (through which the handicapped citizens themselves engage in the Committee activities), the Chairman of the Union of the Czech and Moravian Manufacture Cooperatives as a representative of the employers employing predominantly persons with disabilities (modified working ability) and the head of the Committee Secretariat. The Committee is dealing with problems, which a single department is unable to solve independently. Its aim is to help to create equal opportunities for disabled citizens in all areas of the social life. The Committee prepares a National Plan of Equalizing Opportunities for the Handicapped Citizens, monitors and helps in its implementation. It has a right to comment upon all proposals of materials presented to the government of the Czech Republic, which relate to the handicapped citizens. It cooperates with
the central bodies of the state administration, which present to it for discussion the proposals of measures related to issues of handicapped citizens and cooperates also with the civic associations of handicapped citizens. Its advisory body is the National Council of Handicapped People, the materials of which it deals with. The civic associations of handicapped people thus share through the Committee Secretariat in creating and commenting upon drafts of the pertaining legislative measures.
The Government Council for National Minorities was established based on Act No. 273/2001 Coll., on Rights of Members of the National Minorities and on Change of Some Laws as a permanent advisory and initiation body of the government for issues concerning national minorities and their representatives. The Council Chairman is a member of the government, usually the Deputy Prime Minister (at present the Deputy Prime Minister for the Research and Development, Human Rights and Human Resources). The Council has 29 members, of which at least one half is formed of representatives of national minorities (currently 18 members). The Council observes the compliance with the Constitution of the Czech Republic, Declaration of Basic Rights and Freedoms, international treaties on human rights and basic freedom by which the Czech Republic is bound, compliance with the laws and other legal standards in relation to the members of the national minorities. It secures a preparation of the government measures, which pertain to the rights of the members of national minorities in CR, expresses standpoints to the drafts of laws, drafts of the government regulations and measures pertaining to the rights of members of the national minorities prior to their submitting to the government. It prepares for the government, individual departments or other administrative authorities the recommendations to fulfill the needs of the national minorities in particular in the field of education, culture and media, use of the mother tongue, social and cultural life. It also prepares for the government the summary reports on situation of the national minorities on the territory of the Czech Republic.
The Council cooperates with the central bodies of the state administration, other administrative authorities, self-administration bodies and with NNO. It is competent to propose distributions of financial funds from the state budget in support of activities pursued by national minorities.
The Council for ethnic minorities consists of representatives of 12 ethnic minorities - Bulgarian, Croatian, Hungarian, German, Polish, Roma, Ruthenian, Russian, Greek, Slovak, Serbian and Ukrainian. (Each minority is represented by one to three representatives).
3.2 Government – Self-administration
The government regularly meets with representatives of 14 regions of the Czech Republic and discusses with them the main directions of policies with impacts on the regions. „In order to improve the performance of public administration and enhancement of the dialogue between the municipalities, towns, cities and the government of the Czech Republic“ the government concluded on 22nd April 2004 Agreement on Mutual Cooperation with the Union of Towns and Municipalities (based on Resolution of the Government of the Czech Republic No. 359 executed on 14th April 2004). According to this Agreement, a system of regular consultations should be established between the government and the Union in respect of the government policies with the impact on towns and municipalities.
3.3 Regional Level
After a reform of the public administration, the Czech Republic was divided into 14 regions. The regions are associated in the Association of Regions of the Czech Republic, which is an open interest non-party and non-governmental organization founded in 2001. The supreme body of the Association is the Council. The Council establishes commissions for individual sectors of policies as its initiation and advisory bodies. In the social inclusion area, two commissions are of
a particular priority: the Commission for Social Affairs and the Commission for the Health Sector.
Similar Commissions operate also in individual regions of the Czech Republic. Their members are delegated by political parties represented in the regional councils, but also depending on personal contacts of the representatives of these parties with the groups of handicapped citizens in terms of their health or social situation, the specific issues are dealt with in the sessions of the commissions also with the participation of representatives of these groups who thus have an opportunity of commenting upon the materials. A cooperation and involvement of handicapped persons is very frequent. As regards the Roma community, as it was already mentioned above, the regional Roma community coordinators are employed in the regional authorities. These positions were established by Act No. 129/2000 Coll. on Regions. During the years of 2002 – 2003, all regions have appointed their coordinators.
Based on the new Employment Act, the labor offices are responsible for constitution of advisory boards to pursue cooperation on the labor market. The advisory boards should consist in particular of the representatives of social partners, organizations of handicapped persons and representatives of the municipalities and regions. Their goal is coordination in implementing the state policy of employment. They assume standpoints to the provision of contributions to employers in the active policy of employment, retraining schemes, organization of the consulting activities etc.
3.4 Local Level
The public administration reform abolished districts and a municipal system has been established (Act No. 128/2000 Coll., on Municipalities). The coordination body of municipalities is the Union of Cities, Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic, which originated in 1990. The Union is an open interest, non-party and non-governmental organization, the due members of which are municipalities in the meaning of the Act on Municipalities. The key objective of the Union is to promote the common interests and rights of the municipalities associated in the Union in the spirit of principles of the European Charts of the Local Self-Administration. The Union regularly communicates with the European Commission and promotes the interests of self-administrations also on the EU level. At present, the Union associates 2,469 municipalities (that is about 39%), in which almost 73% citizens of the Czech Republic live (over 7 million of inhabitants). The supreme body of the Union is the Assembly. In the periods between sessions of the Assembly, the Union is managed and supervised by the Board and its operation is secured by the Presidium.
The Presidium may as set up as its advisory bodies specialized Commissions composed of members of the Union or its experts. The members of the Commissions from among the members of the Union have a decisive vote; other members of the Commissions have an advisory vote. At present, there are two commissions with the relevance to the policy of social inclusion: Social Commission and the Commission for Handicapped Citizens. The Commissions meet jointly; they are formed of members of municipal boards and representatives of social departments in municipalities or regions. The professional consultants are representatives of non-state non-profit organizations and other experts. For instance, in the Commission for Handicapped Citizens, the professional consultants are representatives of organizations of handicapped people. The Roma community is not represented so far in these Commissions, but the representatives of the Government Council for the Roma Community Affairs participate in the meetings dealing with the Roma community issues.
An important role for participation and a mutual dialogue is played by the Commissions operating directly in municipalities, the legitimacy of which is based on the Act on Municipalities (128/2000 Coll.). These are consulting bodies of the Municipal Council, which have advisory and initiation roles. They prepare proposals and recommendations for the Council, assume standpoints. In some municipalities, they create a platform for a preliminary negotiation of the consensual proposal of a decision, elsewhere they have also a control function. In some municipalities, they work based on their own plan of work, in other municipalities, they deal with topics presented by the Municipal Council.
Their establishment is voluntary. It only depends on the municipality, what commissions it establishes (that is the reason, why some municipalities have social commissions, while others have social or health commissions). The commission members are appointed by the Council and approved by the municipal council. The members are proposed by individual political parties represented in the municipal council (sometimes with the exclusion of the opposition) in proportion corresponding to the election results, from among members of the political parties represented in the municipal council. However, the parties may appoint at their discretion also non-party members (for instance experts, representatives of handicapped persons, Roma community representatives and so on).
The community planning of social services also develops on the local level. It is an open and cyclic process of finding out the needs and resources and looking for solutions best fit for the local conditions and needs of the involved people. The process is entered by solicitors, providers and users of the social services. Its aim is the involvement of all concerned partners, a support of a dialogue between citizens, a support of the planning process, which will be permanent, preparation of community plans. Through the community planning, the availability and quality of the social services should be increased and the financial funds should be applied more effectively (see the good practice examples).
III. Basic Strategic Documents Articulating the Policies of Social Inclusion of Ethnic Minorities in Culture
Resolution of the Government of the Czech Republic adopted on 10th January 2001 No. 40 on Update of the Strategy of a More Efficient State Support of the Culture until 2005 articulates the cultural policy of the government of the Czech Republic for the period of 2001- 2006.
Concept of a more efficient support of art for the period of 2007-2013 adopted by the Ministry of Culture in May 2006. The subject of the concept is a support of the creative artistic work, obtaining, processing, preserving and presenting the art and making it more accessible to the citizens in the Czech Republic and abroad and the international cooperation in the area of art.
1.1 Cultural Policy of the Czech Republic
The culture is a significant factor in the process of social inclusion. Its main function consists in spreading and promoting intellectual, emotional, ethical and aesthetical values. The strategy and implementation of the cultural policy is in the competence of the Ministry of Culture. The maintenance of a cultural dialogue, without which the integration of the majority with minorities is unthinkable and the fight against racism and xenophobia are a part of the cultural policy of the state. A key instrument to fulfill this policy lies in the common cultural activities of members of the national minorities, foreigners with various ethnical backgrounds and the majority.
The cultural policy can be defined as an organized system of tools (legal regulations and political decisions), by which the state achieves the goals set in the field of culture. A part of the state cultural policy is a minority policy (policy of the state towards religious, cultural, ethnic and national minorities10).
The tools of the cultural policy are in particular:
• legislative; According to Article 2, Clause 2 of the Declaration of Basic Rights and Freedoms, the state power can be applied only in cases and in limits set by the law and in a manner defined by the law, therefore, it is necessary to define in the legislation the public services of the state in the area of culture as a legal authority (and determining of the duty) of the state to secure the cultural services as publicly beneficial services; creation of legal standards in particular for the non-profit sector in culture is also an obligation of the state;
• economic; The economic support of culture by the state is implemented indirectly (tax reliefs, support of the economic self-sufficiency of non-profit entities) and directly by subsidies from the state budget; it is desirable to increase the fund-based financing of cultural activities without the intervention of state administration bodies and to provide budgets supporting the decision-making of the state administration bodies in particular on subsidies, which have a nature of compensation for the forced restriction of the ownership rights of the owners of cultural heritage in the meaning of Article 11 Clause 4 of the Declaration of Basic Rights and Freedoms;
10 A minority denotes any social group differing by an important common characteristics from other groups forming the majority in the given community. An ethnic or national minority denote less numerous communities found in a non-dominant position towards the majority and having, as citizens of the given state formation the ethnic, religious or language characteristics, by which they differ from the rest of the population and show, though only implicitly a sense of solidarity aimed at keeping their own culture, religion or language. The nationality policy of the state is formed of a set of legal regulations and political decisions governing the positionand the rights of the national minorities in the state.
• institutional; state cultural institutions and their system are an important article of the culture system in particular in the area of access to information and in the system of taking care of the cultural heritage;
• controlling; consistent attitude of the state administration bodies in culture is one of the fundamental prerequisites to maintain an equal access of citizens to the cultural heritage;
• methodical; the cultural behavior of entities independent of the state administration bodies (regions, municipalities, churches, non-profit cultural organizations) may be guided by a methodical and educational influence 11.
The access of the Czech Republic citizens to the cultural wealth and the right to share in its development is guaranteed by the Declaration of Basic Rights and Freedoms. The Ministry of Culture aims to secure an equal access of citizens of the Czech Republic to the cultural riches and to support the participation in all artistic activities. It does so in the form of grant schemes, which are available for the citizens as well as foreigners regardless of their ethnic origin. The support of cultural activities is a part of the cultural policy; a special attention is paid to the Roma community projects.
The practical implementation of the cultural policy of the state is a matter of the public administration and the local self-administration. Their task is in particular to create the financial, conceptual, legislative and to a certain extent also the organizationally institutional prerequisites for the active participation of the citizens and civic initiatives in the culture. The implementation of the cultural policy is inseparable from the citizens and civic initiatives; they are the creators and recipients of the cultural assets and values, protect the cultural heritage and pass them over to the next generations.
Primary Goals of the Cultural Policy:
• to guarantee the protection of the freedom of creation of the artists and authors and to create the conditions for exploitation of this freedom,
• to create the conditions for implementation of the cultural activities of citizens in particular based on the civic association (consorting),
• to create the conditions for decentralization of decision-making in the whole cultural system and for transferring the decision-making processes outside the intervention of the state administration bodies and their independence including economic one („artists decide about themselves“),
• to guarantee the equality of access of citizens to the cultural wealth and to facilitate this access to disadvantaged social groups (minorities, handicapped persons),
• to guarantee the protection of the cultural heritage and to support the due care of it,
• to guarantee a free access of citizens to the information, to support the exchange of information within the system of culture, between the system of culture and the external environment regardless of the language and administrative limits,
• to promote the education in the system of creation and use of cultural values,
• to reduce the negative impact of the culture commercionalization.
Sub-Policies of the State in the Area of Culture
„The Strategy of a More Efficient State Support of the Culture“ has a total of 65 articles in which the sub-policies of the state in the area of culture have been formulated:
11 Resolution of the Government of the Czech Republic dtd. 10th January 2001 No. 40 on Update of the Strategy of a More Effective State Support of Culture
• equality of access of all citizens including ethnic minorities to the culture and the cultural heritage,
• grant policy,
• protection of monuments,
• support of the scientific and research activities in the defined areas of culture comparable with other scientific fields,
• gathering of databases of statistically economic data from the field of culture with a sufficient information value for the conceptual and legislative activities and for the international cooperation in the given area, for instance a support of the policy of self- financing cultural institutions.
• Position of the cultural institutions within the frame of the public administration reform, The equal access to the material and the spiritual culture is supported economically by discounts granted to socially weak citizens. The public has a right to information on exploitation of the funds from the state budget designed for the culture. The funds reserved in the state budget for the culture should reach a comparable amount as in other member countries of EU, which is roughly 1% of the total expenses of the state budget12. The use of the funds is to be effective and their distribution is to follow the priorities set by the cultural policy of the state. The effectiveness could be measured in future using the databases of statistically economic data from the area of culture, the creation of which is still in the competence of IPOS (Information and Consulting Center for the Local Culture).
Priorities in the Support of Areas of the Cultural Policy of the State
• Support of the cultural identity, rights to protection of the cultural heritage, relationship of the culture and the society, support of the cultural diversity in the civic society (using the methods and knowledge of anthropology, culturology, sociology, ethnography and ethnology),
• Research and scientific evaluation of the cultural values, environment, support of identification with the cultural values, protection, preservation and presentation of the immoveable cultural heritage in a broader range (the schemes, which are to cater for this area correspond fully to the documents of the Council of Europe and UNESCO in the area of cultural heritage),
• Preservation, documentation and presentation of the movable cultural heritage in the broader range from the scientific processing of the collection items of museums and galleries, as source base of the natural, social and technical sciences, mapping of the historical technologies, up to the possible use of this knowledge in solving the specific tasks in individual fields of the national economy and with the objective to enhance the cultural standard and quality of life of the population,
• Protection of and provision of access to the library funds through digitalization and retroconversion using Internet and a gradual expansion of Caslin – the automated library network, creation of databases of regional information following the example of western libraries; protection of library funds from the microclimate point of view, support of automation of the librarian processes, conversion of catalogues into the electronic form and research of the user needs including the reader´s needs of the national minorities,
12 Article 4 – Resolution of the Government of the Czech Republic adopted on 10th January 2001 No. 40 on Update of the Strategy of a More Effective State Support of Culture
• Scientifically documentary mapping of the development of the Czech musical, dramatic and creative arts, the Czech literary history, theory and critique – profiling of authors, personalities, institutions,
• Research and documentation of the disappearing values of the folk culture living and material, i.e. mapping and preserving the traditional folklore, music, dances, crafts, folk manufacturers and their techniques including documentation by audio-visual equipment,
• Scientific processing of the film history with the documentation outputs including preservation of the audio-visual heritage,
• Research, development, documentation and presentation in the area of press, television, radio, audiovision as well as new methods of propagation of the author crafts.
1.2 State Support of Culture of the National Minorities
The state support of the culture of national minorities relates to the area of library science, publishing of books and non-periodical publications, dramatic art, museum art, activities of art ensembles and amateur activities in the area of unprofessional art. The culture of national minorities is developed in particular by their own cultural institutions and through national organizations and associations.
1.2.1 Scope of State-Aided Activities:
• Art activities
• Educational activities in cultural fields
• Documentation of the national culture
• Publication activities
• Multiethnic cultural events.
The Ministry of Culture supports multiethnic activities, even though here it is not directly about a support of the culture of national minorities but about events, which are to lead to fighting the negative phenomena of the extremism, racial and national intolerance and xenophobia.
The Summary of the State Fund of Culture of the Czech Republic in 2000 – 2004 shows that in 2002, only 280 thousand Czech Crowns were designated to support the projects serving to keep and develop the culture of national minorities.13
In aggregate, after 1990, the state budget or the private funds did not create sufficient resources to finance the artwork and to preserve the cultural heritage14. The disestablishment of the culture was crowned with the transformation of the state administration and formation of self-governing units – regions. The responsibility and the funds for the promotion of culture were transferred to
13 The Concept of a More Effective Support of Art for the Period of 2007-2013, MC ČR May 2006, Page 14
14 After 1989, the Czech culture was notably supported by the international organizations (British Council, Goethe Institut, Institut Francois, ProHelvetia Swiss Foundation, the program of the Dutch Ministry of Health called MATRA and Open Society Found and the Center of Contemporary Art), which were gradually reduced after entry of the Czech Republic into EU. In 1993 – 2002, their support reached CZK 130 million. A number of projects were oriented at the international art cooperation and supported the art and culture as the integral part of the open civic society. In this respect, the priority was with projects supporting tolerance and multicultural orientation. Starting from the year of 2000, the Ministry of Culture is engaged in the Culture 2000 program, which supports the international projects of entities from various countries. In 2005, these projects were subvened by the sum of EUR 3,132,582.00. In 2000 – 2004, the Czech Republic contributed with the amount of EUR 651,060 every year in the Culture 2000 program, a part of the contribution (EUR 290,215.00 per year) was covered out of the Phare program.
The EU Media support scheme sets as its objective to support the European audiovisual works. In 2005, the Czech projects obtained within MEDIA scheme the sum exceeding EUR 1 million..
the regions. The cultural activities are not supported from the regional budgets. In 2000 – 2004, some activities were not supported at all (including the research and development in this area).
Most funds were used to support museums, galleries, libraries, monuments, etc. The privatization, liquidation and abolishment of organizations established in the past by the Ministry of Culture continue. The Ministry of Culture now administers the key organizations and starting from 2002, the allowance organizations may share in co-financing by revenues from their collateral activities and efficient use of the entrusted assets. The allowance organizations still remain an instrument of the state cultural policy and do not include any organizations serving national minorities. The proposed concept is absolutely absent of the programs for the development of minority cultures.
The area of art and culture is marginalized from the point of view of the state support; not only that its importance as a bearer of the identity and cultural heritage is not appreciated, but even the capacity of its economic contribution is underestimated, because it is perceived as a non- productive field. Unless the art and cultural activities are financed alternatively, we cannot expect even the improvement of the financial support of projects serving for the inclusion of ethnic minorities.
Based on the data of the Concept of a More Efficient Support of Art for the Period of 2007 – 2013, the budget of Chapter 334 drops below 1% of the state budget, which is in contradiction with the recommendation of EU15. The approved budget of Chapter 334 for 2006 (Ministry of Culture) – expenses indicator – amounts to CZK 6,357,161 thousand. Of this amount, 40,000 thousand Czech Crowns were earmarked for the support of the cultural activities of national minorities and the Roma community.
The grant schemes of the Ministry of Culture are framed by fields and structured formally by the type of the projects. One of the key goals of the present cultural policy is a support of the freedom of artistic expression. The support of art and culture of the national and ethnic minorities in the form of grants leads in particular to support the shows, festivals, which not only fulfill the art, but also the social and integration function. Due to a transformation of the state administration, a number of artistic and cultural activities were transferred to the competence of regions and municipalities, which are now responsible for the development of art and culture, but so far, the respective funds were not adequately earmarked in the state budget to support such activities.
1.2.2 Grants to Support Unprofessional Activities Support of Cultural Activities of National Minorities
It is declared as a separate program of the Ministry of Culture for legal and physical entities, which supportably perform activities to the benefit of national minorities for at least one year and it partially concerns also the artistic work (support of ensembles, for instance drama, choirs, dancing). DC is the sponsor of the Program of Support of Dissemination and Receipt of Information in Languages of National Minorities or predominantly in languages of national minorities or about national minorities in the society. This scheme has been in its agenda since 2002, before, it was guaranteed by the Treasury Department (Ministry of Finance). The financial funds are granted in two areas:
a) for a periodical press published in languages of national minorities or predominantly in languages of national minorities or for information about the national minorities in the society;
15 The Concept of a More Effective Support of Art for the Period of 2007-2013, MC ČR May 2006, Page 38
